Department of English

About Us

The English Department is a vibrant academic community of nearly 400 majors and 35 full-time faculty.

There are four ways to major in English, with concentrations in Literature, Theatre Arts, Creative Writing, and Journalism and Professional Writing. There is also an online degree in English Studies.

Students who major in English at UMass Lowell can expect a curriculum that combines a solid foundation with diverse opportunities for research, writing, and practical experience. They develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills that serve them well beyond the university.

Small Class Sizes

Nearly all English classes (over 90 %) for majors have enrollment caps under 20, ensuring close interaction with student peers and faculty and support for the development of writing and critical thinking skills.

A Strong Faculty

English faculty are active scholars and creative writers who conduct research and publish in a wide variety of literary and cultural traditions, including fiction, poetry and non-fiction, English, American, and world literatures, gender studies, American studies, media studies, critical race studies, popular culture and music, book history, rhetoric and composition, and literary theory, among others. Our English faculty members are also deeply-committed teachers, and they bring their wide range of expertise into the classroom in ways that both engage and challenge students.

Experiential Learning

Our majors have many opportunities for practical experiences through service learning and internship opportunities at a wide variety of campus offices and community institutions and businesses. In many cases, these work experiences translate into course credit.

Extracurricular Opportunities

The Department and University offer many extracurricular opportunities for majors: The UML Literary Society, the Off-Broadway Players, Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society, The Connector campus newspaper, The Offering literary journal, the Writers on Campus Series, and field trips to local literary sites and events and to area professional theatre.

After Graduation

UMass Lowell English majors pursue a wide array of career paths in teaching, law, journalism, the editing and publishing industries, professional and technical writing, advertising and public relations, and work with a range of cultural organizations including theatres, libraries, museums, and non-profit organizations. Many of our majors pursue advanced degrees, and recent graduates have gone on to graduate programs at Harvard, Boston College, Suffolk School of Law, Oxford and Reading Universities in England, UConn, UMass, UNH, University of Vermont, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and Indiana, among others. Many majors also participate in the “Fast-Track to Teaching” Program with UMass Lowell’s Graduate School of Education resulting in a B.A. and M.Ed. in five years of study.

The Department is also home to the First-Year Writing Program, which serves every undergraduate student on campus through the sequence of College Writing I and II and related courses.